Applied Komatsu Technology, Inc.

Applied Materials, Inc.

Yuen-Kui (Jerry) Wong

Kam S Law

Yuh-Jia (Jim) Su

Kenneth S Collins

Michael Robert Rice

Jeffrey S Marks

David Walter Groechel

Gerald Z Yin

Craig A Roderick

Douglas Buchberger

Chan-Lon Yang

Peter R Keswick

Jon Mohn

Haruhiro (Harry) Goto

Haruhiro Harry Goto

Jie Chen

A general method of the invention is to provide a polymer-hardening precursor piece (such as silicon, carbon, silicon carbide or silicon nitride, but preferably silicon) within the reactor chamber during an etch process with a fluoro-carbon or fluoro-hydrocarbon gas, and to heat the polymer-hardening precursor piece above the polymerization temperature sufficiently to achieve a desired increase in oxide-to-silicon etch selectivity. Generally, this polymer-hardening precursor or silicon piece may be an integral part of the reactor chamber walls and/or ceiling or a separate, expendable and quickly removable piece, and the heating/cooling apparatus may be of any suitable type including apparatus which conductively or remotely heats the silicon piece.

Plasma reactor with heated source of a polymer-hardening precursor material

An etch method includes providing a material layer consisting essentially of a group member selected from the group consisting of an indium oxide (InO), a tin oxide (SnO), a mixture of indium and tin oxides, a compound of indium and of tin and of oxygen having the general formulation In.sub.x Sn.sub.y O.sub.z where z is substantially greater than zero but less than 100% and where the sum x+y fills the remainder of the 100%, and a mixture of the preceding ones of the group members. A reactive gas including a halogen-containing compound and an oxygen-containing compound is supplied to a vicinity of the material layer. Also, an electric field is supplied to react the supplied reactive gas with the material layer so as to form volatile byproducts of reactive gas and the material layer.

Dry-etching of indium and tin oxides

Plasma reactor with heated source of a polymer-hardening precursor

A method of etching openings in a dielectric layer of a semiconductor device by utilizing a novel etchant gas system of sulfur hexafluoride/chlorine such that sloped sidewalls can be formed in the openings having a desired taper of between about 20.degree. and about 85.degree. for achieving improved step coverage and profile control of the TFT fabrication process.

Tapered dielectric etch in semiconductor devices

A method of etching an article having a substrate, an etchable film and a mask layer having a pattern formed therein includes the step of exposing the article to an etchant gas mixture which includes a halogen-containing gas and an inert gas. An etching profile is formed which is substantially smooth across an interface between the etchable film and the mask layer. The method is particularly useful in producing components of articles such as flat-panel displays.

Tapered profile etching method

An RIE method and apparatus for etching through the material layer of a transparent-electrode (ITO) in a single continuous step at a rate better than 100 .ANG./min and with a selectivity better than 20 to 1 is disclosed. Chamber pressure is maintained at least as low as 60 mTorr. A reactive gas that includes ethyl iodide C.sub.2 H.sub.5 I) is used alone or in combination with another gas such as O.sub.2. Plasma-induced light emissions of reaction products and/or the reactants are monitored to determine the time point of effective etch-through.

Dry-etch of indium and tin oxides with C2H5I gas

An RIE method and apparatus for etching through the material layer of a transparent-electrode (ITO) in a single continuous step at a rate better than 80 .ANG./min is disclosed. Chamber pressure is maintained at least as low as 30 mTorr. A reactive gas that includes a halogen hydride such as HCl is used alone or in combination with another reactive gas such as Cl.sub.2. Plasma-induced light emissions of reaction products and/or the reactants are monitored to determine the time point of effective etch-through.

High-rate dry-etch of indium and tin oxides by hydrogen and halogen

Growing community of inventors

Fremont, CA, United States of America

Yuen-Kui (Jerry) Wong